This chapter shall be known as the Buellton uniform transient occupancy tax.
(Prior code § 3.25.010; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
Note: Adopted by Ordinance No. 98-02 pursuant to a vote of the electorate on April 14, 1998.
Except where the context otherwise requires, the definitions given in this section shall govern the construction of this chapter.
means any structure or portion of any structure, or any other lodging which is occupied or intended or designed for occupancy by transients for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes and includes, but is not limited to, any hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, studio hotel, bachelor hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment house dormitory, public or private club, and shall further include any recreational vehicle situated on a recreational vehicle site, mobilehome or house trailer at a fixed location, or other similar structure or portion thereof, duplex, triplex, single-family dwelling units except any private dwelling house or other individually-owned single-family dwelling rented only infrequently and incidental to normal occupancy or any timeshare as set out in California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7280; provided that the burden of establishing that the facility is not a hotel shall be on the owner or operator thereof.
means the use or possession or the right to the use or possession of any room or rooms, or portion thereof, offered for rent for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes.
means the person who is proprietor of the hotel, whether in the capacity of owner, lessee, sublessee, mortgagee in possession, licensee, or any other capacity. Where the operator performs his or her functions through a managing agent of any type or character other than an employee, the managing agent also is an operator for the purposes of this chapter and has the same duties and liabilities as his or her principal. Compliance with the provisions of this chapter by either the principal or the managing agent is, however, considered to be compliance by both.
means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, social club, fraternal organization, joint stock company, corporation, estate, trust, business trust, receiver trustee, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
means the consideration charged, whether or not received, for the occupancy of space in a hotel valued in money, whether received in money, goods, labor, or otherwise, including all receipts, cash, credits and property, and services of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom whatsoever.
means the city manager or designated agent, whether a city employee or county officer or employee.
means occupancy related to the situation wherein a purchaser receives the right or entitlement in perpetuity, for life, or for a term of years or other extended term, to the recurrent, exclusive use or occupancy of a lot, parcel, unit, room(s), hotel or portion thereof, or segment of real property, annually or on some other seasonal or periodic basis, for a period of time that has been or will be allotted from the use or occupancy periods into which the time-share project which is involved has been divided. The right or entitlement to occupancy may attach in advance to a specific lot, parcel, unit, room(s), or portion of a hotel, or segment of real property, or may involve designation or selection of the same at a future time or times.
means any person who occupies or is entitled to occupy by reason of concession, permit, right of access, license or other agreement for a period of 30 consecutive calendar days or less, counting portions of calendar days as full days. Any such person so occupying space in a hotel is a transient until the period of 30 days has expired unless there is an agreement in writing between the operator and the occupant providing for a longer period of occupancy. In determining whether a person is a transient, an uninterrupted period of time extending both prior and subsequent to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter may be considered.
(Prior code § 3.25.020; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992; Ord. 94-14 § 2, 1994)
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of 14% of the rent actually charged or customarily charged by the operator for the rooms and/or facilities occupied by the transient. This tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the city which is extinguished only by payment to the operator of the hotel at the time the rent is paid. The unpaid tax is due upon the transient's ceasing to occupy space in the hotel. If, for any reason, the tax due is not paid to the operator of the hotel, the tax administrator may require that such tax be paid directly to the tax administrator. The amount of the tax shall automatically revert to 12%, the previous amount of the tax, on the 25th anniversary of the effective date of this ordinance unless extended by a then-qualifying vote of the electorate.
(Prior code § 3.25.030; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992; Res. 12-20 § 2, 2012; Ord. 13-01 § 1, 2013; Ord. 25-01, 1/23/2025)
A.
No tax shall be imposed upon:
1.
Any person as to whom, or any occupancy as to which, it is beyond the power of the city to impose the tax provided in this chapter;
2.
Any federal or state of California officer or employee when on official business;
3.
Any officer or employee of a foreign government who is exempt by reason of express provision of federal law or international treaty.
B.
No exemption is granted except upon a claim therefor made at the time rent is collected and under penalty of perjury upon a form prescribed by the tax administrator.
(Prior code § 3.25.040; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
Each operator shall collect the tax imposed by this chapter to the same extent and at the same time as the rent is collected from every transient. The amount of tax shall be separately stated from the amount of the rent charged, and each transient shall receive a receipt for payment from the operator. No operator of a hotel shall advertise or state in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, that the tax or any part thereof will be assumed or absorbed by the operator, or that it will not be added to the rent, or that, if added, any part will be refunded except in the manner hereinafter provided.
(Prior code § 3.25.050; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
Within 30 days after commencing business or reverting to a hotel use pursuant to Section 19.06.295 of this Code, each operator of any hotel renting to transients must register the hotel with the tax administrator and obtain from him or her a "transient occupancy registration certificate" to be posted at all times in a conspicuous place on the premises. This certificate shall state, among other things, the following:
A.
The name of the operator;
B.
The address of the hotel;
C.
The date upon which the certificate was issued; and
D.
"This Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate signifies that the person named on the face hereof has fulfilled the requirements of the Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax by registering with the tax administrator for the purpose of collecting from transients the Transient Occupancy Tax and remitting said tax to the tax administrator. This Certificate does not authorize any person to conduct any unlawful business or to conduct any lawful business in an unlawful manner, nor to operate a hotel without strictly complying with all applicable laws, including, but not limited to, those requiring a permit from any board, commission, department, or office of this city."
(Prior code § 3.25.060; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992; Ord. 26-03, 3/26/2026)
Each operator shall, not later than 20 days after the last day of each month, file a return with the tax administrator, on forms provided by the tax administrator, of the total rents charged and received and the amount of tax collected for transient occupancies during the preceding month. At the time the return is filed, the full amount of the tax collected shall be remitted to the tax administrator. Any return and/or tax not received by the tax administrator by the twentieth (20th) day after the last day of the month to which such return relates, or during which such tax was collected, shall be deemed delinquent pursuant to Section 3.28.080 of this chapter. The tax administrator may establish shorter reporting periods for any certificate holder if it is deemed necessary to ensure collection of the tax, and may require further information in the return. Returns and payments are due immediately upon cessation of business for any reason. All taxes collected by operators pursuant to this chapter are held in trust for the account of the city until payment thereof is made to the tax administrator.
(Prior code § 3.25.070; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
A.
Original Delinquency. Any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by this chapter within the time required shall pay a penalty of ten percent of the amount of the tax in addition to the amount of the tax.
B.
Continued Delinquency. For each subsequent 30 day period following the date on which an operator's remittance first becomes delinquent the operator shall pay a delinquency penalty of ten percent of the amount of the tax in addition to the amount of the tax and the ten percent penalty first imposed, up to a maximum of 50%.
C.
Interest. In addition to the penalties imposed, any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by this chapter shall pay interest at the rate of one percent per month or fraction thereof on the amount of the tax, exclusive of penalties, from the date on which the remittance first became delinquent until paid.
D.
Penalties Merged with Tax. Every penalty imposed and such interest as accrues under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the tax herein required to be paid.
(Prior code § 3.25.080; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
A.
If any operator fails or refuses to collect the tax and to make, within the time provided in this chapter, any report and remittance of the tax or any portion thereof required by this chapter, the tax administrator shall proceed in such manner as he or she deems best to obtain facts and information on which to base an estimate of the tax due. As soon as the tax administrator procures such facts and information as he or she is able to obtain upon which to base the assessment of any tax imposed by this chapter and payable by any operator who has failed or refused to collect the same and to make such report and remittance, the tax administrator shall proceed to determine and assess against such operator the tax, interest and penalties provided for by this chapter. In case such determination is made, the tax administrator shall give notice of the amount so assessed by serving it personally or by depositing it in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the operator so assessed at his or her last known place of business. Such operator may within ten days after the serving or mailing of such notice make application in writing to the tax administrator for a hearing on the amount assessed. If application by the operator for a hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the tax, interest and penalties, if any, determined by the tax administrator shall become final and conclusive and immediately due and payable. If such application is made, the tax administrator shall give not less than five days written notice in the manner prescribed in this chapter to the operator to show cause at a time and place fixed in the notice why the amount specified therein should not be fixed for such tax, interest, and penalties. At such hearing, the operator may appear and offer evidence why such specified tax, interest, and penalties should not be so fixed.
B.
After such hearing, the tax administrator shall determine the proper tax to be remitted and thereafter give written notice to the person in the manner prescribed of such determination and the amount of such tax, interest, and penalties. The amount determined to be due shall be payable after 15 days unless an appeal is taken as provided in Section 3.28.120.
(Prior code § 3.25.090; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
Each operator shall notify the tax administrator, ten days prior to the sale or cessation of business for any reason and returns and remittances are due immediately upon the sale or cessation of business.
(Prior code § 3.25.092; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
Should the tax administrator be required to perform an audit of the records of any operator pursuant to Section 3.28.090 to determine the proper amount of any tax owed pursuant to this chapter, the entire cost of the audit shall be assessed against the operator. In the event that the books and/or records required to perform an audit are not made available within the city, the assessment shall include the cost of transportation, lodging, meals, and portal-to-portal travel time. The assessment shall be due and payable not more than 30 days after written notice of the assessment is sent, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the operator. Should the operator fail to pay assessment within the 30 day time limit, the assessment shall constitute a lien against the property for which the audit was performed. After confirmation of the assessment lien by the city council, the city assessor and finance director shall be notified, and shall add the amount of the assessment lien to the next regular tax bill levied against the property for municipal purposes.
(Prior code § 3.25.095; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
Any operator aggrieved by any decision of the tax administrator with respect to the amount of such tax, interest and penalties, if any, may appeal to the city council in accordance with the provisions of Sections 1.24.010 to 1.24.040 of this code. The findings of the city council are final and conclusive and shall be served upon the appellant in the manner prescribed above for service of notice of hearing. Any amount found to be due is immediately due and payable upon the service of notice.
(Prior code § 3.25.100; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
It is the duty of every operator liable for the collection and payment to the city of any tax imposed by this chapter to keep and preserve, for a period of three years, all records as may be necessary to determine the amount of such tax for which the operator may be or may have been liable. The tax administrator shall have the right to inspect all such records at all reasonable times and may subpoena the records of any operator who refuses to make them available for examination.
(Prior code § 3.25.110; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
If the tax administrator determines that the failure to make any remittance or payment due under this chapter is due to fraud, a penalty of 100% of the amount of the tax and penalties shall be added thereto in addition to the penalties stated in Section 3.28.080.
(Prior code § 3.25.115; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
A.
Whenever the amount of any tax, interest, or penalty has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the city under this chapter, it may be refunded as provided in subsections B and C of this section provided a claim in writing therefor, stating under penalty of perjury the specific grounds upon which the claim is founded, is filed with the tax administrator within one year of the date of payment. The claim shall be on forms furnished by the tax administrator.
B.
An operator may claim a refund or take as credit against taxes collected and remitted the amount overpaid, paid more than once, or erroneously or illegally collected or received when it is established in a manner prescribed by the tax administrator that the person from whom the tax has been collected was not a transient; provided, however, that neither a refund nor a credit is allowed unless the amount of the tax so collected has either been refunded to the transient or credited to rent subsequently payable by the transient to the operator.
C.
A transient may obtain a refund of taxes overpaid or paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received by the city by filing a claim in the manner provided in subsection A of this section, but only when the tax was paid by the transient directly to the tax administrator, or when the transient, having paid the tax to the operator, establishes to the satisfaction of the tax administrator that the transient has been unable to obtain a refund from the operator who collected the tax.
D.
No refund shall be paid under the provisions of this section unless the claimant establishes his or her right thereto by written records showing entitlement thereto.
(Prior code § 3.25.120; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992; Ord. 97-05 § 1, 1997; Ord. 97-06 § 1, 1997; Ord. 98-02 §§ 1, 2, 3, 1998; Ord. 98-03 §§ 1, 2, 3, 1998)
Any tax required to be paid by any transient under the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a debt owed by the transient to the city. Any such tax collected by an operator which has not been paid to the city shall be deemed a debt owed by the operator to the city. Any person owing money to the city under the provisions of this chapter is liable to an action brought in the name of the city for the recovery of such amount.
(Prior code § 3.25.130; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
Any operator or other person who fails or refuses to register as required in this chapter, or to furnish any return required to be made, or who fails or refuses to furnish a supplemental return or other data required by the tax administrator, or who renders a false or fraudulent return or claim, is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to punishment in accordance with Section 1.32.010 et seq., of this code. Any person required to make, render, sign, or verify any report or claim who makes any false or fraudulent report or claim with intent to defeat or evade the determination of any amount due required by this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to punishment in accordance with Section 1.32.010 et seq., of this code.
(Prior code § 3.25.140; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
Whenever any operator fails to comply with any provision of this chapter relating to occupancy tax or any rule or regulation of the tax administrator relating to occupancy tax prescribed and adopted under this chapter, the tax administrator upon hearing, after giving the operator ten days notice in writing specifying the time and place of hearing and requiring him/her to show cause why his or her certificate or certificates should not be revoked, may suspend or revoke any one or more of the certificates held by the operator. The tax administrator shall give to the operator written notice of the suspension or revocation of any of his or her certificates. The notice required in this chapter may be served personally or by mail in the manner prescribed for service of notice of a deficiency determination. The tax administrator shall not issue a new certificate after the revocation of a certificate unless he/she is satisfied that the former holder of the certificate will comply with the provisions of this chapter relating to the occupancy tax and regulations of the tax administrator.
(Prior code § 3.25.160; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
During any period of time during which a certificate has not been issued, or is suspended, revoked or otherwise not validly in effect, the tax administrator may require that the hotel be closed.
(Prior code § 3.25.170; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
If any amount required to be remitted or paid to the city under this chapter is not remitted or paid when due, the tax administrator may, within three years after the amount is due, file for record in the office of the county of Santa Barbara recorder a certificate specifying the amount of tax, penalties and interest due, the name and address as it appears on the records of the tax administrator of the operator liable for the same and the fact that the tax administrator has complied with all provisions of this chapter in the determination of the amount required to be remitted and paid. From the time of the filing for record, the amount required to be remitted together with penalties and interest constituting a lien upon all real property in the county owned by the operator or afterwards and before the lien expires acquired by him or her. The lien has the force, effect and priority of a judgment lien and shall continue for ten years from the time of filing of the certificate unless sooner released or otherwise discharged.
(Prior code § 3.25.180; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
A.
The amounts required to be remitted and/or paid by any operator under this chapter with penalties and interest shall be satisfied first in any of the following cases:
1.
Whenever the person is insolvent;
2.
Whenever the person makes a voluntary assignment of his or her assets;
3.
Whenever the estate of the person in the hands of executors, administrators, or heirs is insufficient to pay all the debts due from the deceased;
4.
Whenever the estate and effects of an absconding, concealed or absent person required to pay any amount under this chapter are levied upon by process law. This chapter does not give the city a preference over any recorded lien which attached prior to the date when the amounts required to be paid became a lien.
(Prior code § 3.25.190; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
At any time within three years after any operator is delinquent in the remittance or payment of any amount in this chapter, required to be remitted or paid or within three years after the last recording of a certificate under Section 3.28.200, the tax administrator may issue a warrant for the enforcement of any liens and for the collection of any amount required to be paid to the city under this chapter. The warrant shall be directed to any sheriff, marshal or constable and shall have the same effect as a writ of execution. The warrant shall be levied and sale made pursuant to it in the same manner with the same effect as a levy of and a sale pursuant to a writ of execution. The tax administrator may pay or advance to the sheriff, marshal or constable the same fees, commissions and expenses for his or her services as are provided by law for similar services pursuant to a writ of execution. The tax administrator, and not the court, shall approve the fees for publication in a newspaper.
(Prior code § 3.25.200; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
At any time within three years after any operator is delinquent in the remittance or payment of any amount, the tax administrator may forthwith collect the amount in the following manner. The tax administrator shall seize any property, real or personal, of the operator and sell the property, or a sufficient part of it, at public auction to pay the amount due together with any penalties and interest imposed for the delinquency and any costs incurred on account of the seizure and sale. Any seizure made to collect occupancy taxes due shall be only of property of the operator not exempt from execution under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(Prior code § 3.25.210; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
If any operator liable for any amount under this chapter sells out his or her business or quits the business, his or her successor or assigns shall withhold sufficient of the purchase price to cover such amount until the former owner produces a receipt from the tax administrator showing that it has been paid or a certificate stating that no amount is due.
(Prior code § 3.25.220; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
If the purchaser of a hotel fails to withhold purchase price as required, he or she shall become personally liable for the payment of the amount required to be withheld by him/her to the extent of the purchase price, valued in money. Within 60 days after receiving a written request from the purchaser for a certificate, or within 60 days from the date the former owner's records are made available for audit, whichever period expires the later, but in any event not later than 90 days after receiving the request, the tax administrator shall either issue the certificate or mail notice to the purchaser at his or her address as it appears on the records of the tax administrator of the amount that must be paid as a condition of issuing the certificate. Failure of the tax administrator to mail the notice will release the purchaser from any further obligation to withhold purchase price as above provided. The time within which the obligation of the successor may be enforced shall start to run at the time the operator sells his or her business or at the time that the determination against the operator becomes final, whichever event occurs the later.
(Prior code § 3.25.230; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
If any person or operator is delinquent in the remittance or payment of the amount required to be remitted or paid by him/her or in the event a determination has been made against him/her for the remittance of tax and payment of the penalty, the city may, within three years after the tax obligation became due, give notice thereof personally or by registered mail to all persons, including the state or any political subdivision thereof, having in their possession or under their control any credits or other personal property belonging to the taxpayer. After receiving the withholding notice, the person so notified shall make no disposition of the taxpayer's credits, other personal property or debts until the city consents to a transfer or disposition or until 60 days elapse after the receipt of the notice, whichever expires earlier. All persons, upon receipt of the notice, shall advise the city immediately of all such credits, other personal property or debts in their possession, under their control or owing by them. If such notice seeks to prevent the transfer or other disposition of a deposit in a bank or other credits or personal property in the possession or under the control of the bank, to be effective the notice shall be delivered or mailed to the branch or office of such bank at which such deposit is carried or at which such credits or personal property is held. If any person so notified makes transfer or disposition of the property or debts required to be held hereunder during the effective period of the notice to withhold, he/she shall be liable to the city to the extent of the value of the release up to the amount of the indebtedness owed by the taxpayer to the city.
(Prior code § 3.25.250; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
The tax administrator, for good cause, may extend for not to exceed one month the time for making any return or paying any amount required to be paid under this chapter. The extension may be granted at any time, provided a request therefor is filed with the tax administrator within or prior to the period for which the extension may be granted. Any person to whom an extension is granted shall pay, in addition to the tax, interest at the rate of one percent per month or fraction thereof, from the date on which the tax would have been due without the extension until the date of payment.
(Prior code § 3.25.270; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
It is unlawful for any person having an administrative duty under this chapter to make known in any manner whatsoever the business affairs, operations or information obtained by an investigation of the records of any operator or any other person visited or examined in the discharge of official duty, or the amount or source of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular thereof, set forth or disclosed in any return, or to knowingly permit any return or copy thereof or any abstract or particulars thereof to be seen or examined by any person. Successors, receivers, trustees, executors, administrators, assignees, and guarantors, if directly interested, may be given information as to the items included in the amounts of any unpaid tax or amounts of tax, penalties and interest required to be collected.
(Prior code § 3.25.280; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)
The city is empowered to enter into a joint powers agreement with other cities and the county of Santa Barbara, and if such agreement or agreements can be made wherein central collection for the county of Santa Barbara is provided, then it may be done upon approval by the city council.
(Prior code § 3.25.290; Ord. 92-08 § 1, 1992)